DIRECTOR'S LECTURE SERIES

Environmental Lawlessness

What happens when laws and regulations don’t keep pace with changes in technology, science, and society? The answer, according to Harvard Law School Professor Richard Lazarus, is lawlessness. Come learn some of the history and circumstances behind the country’s current but outdated environmental laws, how the original scope and intentions of these laws may no longer match the scope of the problems we face today, and the lawmaking challenges we now face as we seek to address the mounting environmental risks posed by deepwater drilling, natural gas fracking, and climate change. Professor Lazarus, who teaches environmental law, natural resources law, Supreme Court advocacy, and torts at Harvard Law School, was the principal author of Deep Water - The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling (GPO 2011), the Report to the President of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling Commission. He will speak of lessons learned from this environmental disaster and how new regulations in line with current technologies are needed to better protect the environment as we tap our natural resources. Free. Member-only registration through December 15; General registration after December 15

Eye of the Beholder: Johannes Vermeer, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, and the Reinvention of Seeing

“See for yourself!” was the clarion call of the 1600s. Scientists peered at nature through microscopes and telescopes, making the discoveries in astronomy, physics, chemistry, and anatomy that ignited the Scientific Revolution. Artists investigated nature with lenses, mirrors, and camera obscuras, creating extraordinarily detailed paintings of flowers and insects, and scenes filled with realistic effects of light, shadow, and color. By extending the reach of sight the new optical instruments prompted the realization that there is more than meets the eye. But they also raised questions about how we see and what it means to see. In answering these questions, scientists and artists in Delft changed how we perceive the world. Author of The Philosophical Breakfast Club, a Scientific American Notable Book, Laura Snyder returns to the Arboretum to share her latest book, Eye of the Beholder, in which she pairs painter with natural philosopher to explain the revelatory ways of seeing in the 17th century. Fee $5 member, $10 nonmemberStudents:Email to register for free.

Growing Plants from Seeds

There’s nothing more satisfying to a gardener than growing plants from seeds. From annuals and perennials to trees and shrubs, success can be achieved if you understand what triggers germination. Expert propagator Jack Alexander will share techniques for starting various types of plants from seeds. This workshop is for beginners and those who have been frustrated in past attempts to transform seed to seedling. Students will leave class with a selection of seeds raring to grow. Aftercare will be necessary. Fee $50 member, $65 nonmember

Celebrate the Earth this Earth Day

The Hidden Forest

Although what we see when we walk through the forest are plants, those plants are supported by huge numbers of invisible fungi that feed and water them, protect them from diseases and, finally digest them so that dead wood doesn't clog the world. The plant-fungal connection has a long and fascinating history, and includes stories of cheating, murder, and dysfunctional relationships, as well as our slowly evolving understanding of what's going on in these hidden realms. We promise that you'll never look at the forest in quite the same way after hearing this talk.Free, but registration requested

Offered with the Boston Society of Landscape Architects

Biologist Susan Goldhor, PhD, joined the Boston Mycological Club a number of years ago to learn more about collecting edible mushrooms. This led to her fascination in the role of fungi in ecosystems. She has been a columnist for both of the nation’s major mycological journals and has served as President of the Boston Mycological Club for the past five years. The BMC, the oldest amateur mycological club in the world, celebrates its 120th anniversary this year, continuing its tradition of educating club members on all aspects of mycology through lectures, forays and workshops.

Healthy Places in the Transition Century

In the coming century urban populations around the world will grow at uneven rates--some places will lose population in metropolitan areas and others gain it. Populations in most places will be older on average. How can the growing body of research on the connections between health and environments be used to make a positive contribution to evolving urban and suburban communities? Ann Forsyth will speak about the components that contribute to healthier and more sustainable cities, alternatives to sprawl, and the tensions that exist between social and ecological values in urban design. Fee Free member, $10 nonmember

Nature Photography Workshop

Improve your photographs of nature in this half-day workshop, a talk followed by hands-on experience. The class takes place in the Arnold Arboretum at one of the most beautiful times of year. Learn about composition, color, light, depth of field, and focus. Bring your camera and manual and familiarize yourself with the operation of your camera prior to the workshop. Level: beginner/advanced beginner. Class size: approximately 10. Fee $60
Offered with the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Art

Follow that Fragrance! Chasing Lilac History

White lilacs and Rachmaninov are connected how? What villainous role did lilac blooms play on the old “Batman” TV show? Can you name the Walt Whitman lilac poem not addressing President Lincoln’s assassination? This year at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, fellow Ben Miller and four Harvard College research partners (Theodore Delwiche ‘17, Sarah Blatt-Herold ‘18, Christine Legros ‘17, Ian Van Wye ‘17) have been harvesting material for a book-length lyric essay about the lilac aura, and ways it has filtered through their own lives and cultures around the globe. In this lively program, “Team Lilac” will present an array of poems, songs, monologues and visual art celebrating the lavish, mysterious, and ever-enduring charisma of Syringa vulgaris.Free. Registration requested.

Before or after the event, plan to walk to the Arboretum's lilac collection to enjoy the earlier blooming varieties in this vast collection. See map.

Small Trees with Big Appeal

Jim Gorman, Horticulturist 2 Sessions: Tuesdays, May 12 and June 6:00–8:00pmLocation: Hunnewell Building

On urban or smaller suburban properties, there usually isn’t sufficient space to plant what will become a towering oak or maple tree. In such cases, one needs to consider smaller specimens. In this class, horticulturist Jim Gorman will tour through the Arboretum landscape to show off trees that are smaller in stature and provide multi-season appeal. The two sessions are spaced a month apart to showcase late spring and earlier summer characteristics. Bring a clipboard for this information-rich program and comfortable walking shoes as this class takes place in the landscape.Fee $50 member, $65 nonmember

Dr. Peter Ashton has spent his career focused on tropical forest health and dynamics, plotting change over time in forest composition around the world. His efforts and the data collected across decades reveal proof of changing climate, and population pressure and resource demands by humans on ecosystems. His collaborative efforts have shown the catastrophic loss of tropical rain forests, which retain some of the greatest species and genetic diversity on land. An expert in the Dipterocarpaceae, a pantropical family of large, buttressed hardwood trees, Ashton did much of his forestry field work in Southeast Asia, most often on the island of Borneo which holds the greatest species diversity of this family and some of the greatest floral diversity of the world. Learn about Peter’s decades-long conservation efforts and celebrate the publishing of his book, On the Forests of Tropical Asia, the first ever comprehensive account of all the forests of one tropical continental region. Free
Priority registration for members through April 15; general registration begins April 16.

Identifying the 25 Most Common Trees in Boston

In just a few hours you can learn to identify 90 percent of the trees growing in Boston, both native and nonnative. Beginning in the classroom, you will briefly review the characteristics of the 25 most common trees and learn the botanical terminology necessary to describe them. You will then walk the grounds of the Arboretum to look at mature specimens of these trees.Bring a notebook or clipboard for this information-rich program.Fee $45 member, $60 nonmember

Chasing the Red Queen: The Evolutionary Race between Pests and Poisons

Andy Dyer, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology, University of South Carolina, Aiken1 Session: Wednesday, June 10, 7:00–8:30pmLocation: Hunnewell Building

In Through the Looking Glass, the Red Queen tells Alice she must run as fast as she can just to stay in place. Modern agriculture, with its almost total dependence on chemical pesticides, is the Alice of today. Try as we might, our every attempt to control insects and weeds is met with an evolutionary response: they adapt and become resistant to the poisons. We fight back with new, improved chemicals—they respond by adapting again, and on it goes, over and over, as it has for the past sixty years. But Andy Dyer believes that if we use the principles of evolutionary biology, we stand a good chance of taking control of our food supply and weaning our agricultural system from chemical dependence. Join us for a biological perspective on securing foods of our future. Fee $5 member, $10 nonmember

Pruning Project: Taming the Early Season Bloomers

Now is the time to prune those early-blooming shrubs--once they’ve flowered--so their growth through the summer can fuel the development of next year’s buds. ISA-certified arborist Jen Kettell will focus your attention on the kinds of shrubs that should be pruned now, various pruning cuts, and the type of thinning that will encourage health and vibrant blooms for years to come. Fee $25 member, $35 nonmember

In the Groves: A Summer Solstice Journey

Join us for an enchanting evening of Tree Myths, Songs and Summer Solstice Legends. Diane and Margot spin tales of the human connection with trees and the deep meaning we have assigned to them through the ages. This unique performance, designed specifically for the Arnold Arboretum, travels through the Arboretum with story and music. Each story is told under a different tree or among a unique collection of Arboretum plants. The program begins under a grand Cedar of Lebanon, moves into the rosaceous collection, to the oaks of Bussey Hill, then onward to Hemlock Hill, culminating with the haunting Czech legend “The Wild Woman of the Birch Grove” told amid the birches at sunset. Appropriate for adults and for children twelve years and above. Bring a cushion to sit on if you wish. Registrants will walk approximately two miles on and off trails on uneven terrain. The performance takes place rain or shine. In the event of rain, it will be held in the Hunnewell Building lecture hall. Register early for this popular event.

Exploring the Conifer Collection

The conifer collection at the Arnold Arboretum is dense in diversity and rich in history. Jim Gorman will lead participants through this collection explaining key identification features, natural history, medicinal and economic uses, and horticultural firsts. He will focus on members of the Pinaceae and Cupressaceae that populate the Northern Hemisphere, including firs, hemlocks, pines, cedars, junipers, cypress, calocedrus, and more. Bring a clipboard for this information-rich class and comfortable walking shoes.Fee $50 member, $65 nonmember

Expand your understanding of New England’s wild plants by learning interesting clues about their family relationships and classification. We’ll use microscopes to study woody and herbaceous plants inside and then we’ll head outdoors to look at the differences between the many plants we’ll find in the field. You’ll learn basic formulas for plant structure and how to apply these to other families. Bring lunch and a hand lens.Fee $178 member, $218 nonmemberOffered with the New England Wild Flower Society